Loyalty or death
The plan for escape is now, as Claire decides to use "The Gathering" as her opportunity to get back to the ruin stones that flung her through time. But as we all know, no escape plan goes without its problems. Some of them are small and can lead to success. While others are large and can lead to failure. Her road to escape unfortunately leads to failure, and possibly cost the life of Jamie.
The desperation shown in Claire to try to escape has definitely escalated. Having done intricate recognizance in the form of playing games with children to get the layout of the land and using gossip to get her "shadows" to be lured away, everything seems about easy for Claire. But that is not the case here. Claire seems to have underestimated how important she's become to the MacKenzie clan, so much to the point where they would allow an Outlander such as her to be a part of "The Gathering."
This Gathering is...well, a gathering of all the MacKenzie clansmen who pledge their loyalty to Collum MacKenzie. That includes Collum's brother, Dougal MacKenzie. With everyone gathered to pledge their allegiance, this definitely seemed to be the right time to escape. She even goes so far as to pick out a horse for her to use in her escape plan, which she claims will be for the great boar hunt the following day. However, her stable friend, Jamie, is nowhere to be seen to help her pick out a horse. She learns from the stable master that it is best for Jamie to remain hidden till the day of The Gathering is over. This completely goes over her head, but will prove very vital later in more ways than she can consider.
As I stated before, her importance to the clan and all the people she's met has made her presence more of an obstacle in her route to escape. First Mrs. Fitz distracts her escape by having her dressed for the ceremony. Next she gets hold up by the young girl that is quite fond of Jamie who wants a potion that speeds up the desire of the heart. Which she claims she's not asking for a love potion, but that is pretty much what she's asking for. Claire makes up some gibberish by claiming dried horse dung is a special magic powder and reciting "there's no place like love," over and over again would work as a "not love" potion. To make matters worse, after she feels she's back on track she nearly gets raped by three drunk clansmen who have wandered off from The Gathering. Luckily she's saved by Dougal, who unfortunately also tries to rape her. She manages to fight back and knock him out before getting to the stables.
And just as she's about to get on her chosen horse, Brimstone, who stops her from escaping other than... Jamie. He's apparently been in hiding for reasons he does not digress, but Claire could care less about that right now. She makes it clear that she wants to escape, something that Jamie finds obvious but tells her that her plans are pointless given the extra amount of clansmen and guards present for The Gathering. Jamie offers to take her back to the castle, knowing full well that him going back to the castle with Claire would be very deadly for him.
It is upon Claire's escorted return that she discovers the reason for Jamie wanting to hide. As he is the nephew of the MacKenzie brothers, if he is to pledge his loyalty to Collum it would mean he acknowledges being the next in line to replace him as Laird of Castle Leoch. This would put him in the direct crosshairs of Dougal, who has a claim as Laird once Collum passes away. And all of a sudden Claire feels guilt for what she has done by not realizing that allowing Jamie to take her back to the castle could possibly mean he could be killed by Dougal. However lucky for all of them, Jamie is a smart man of not pledging allegiance but obedience to the MacKenzie clan. As he is a wanted man by the British, and the only place of refuge he has is with the MacKenzie's in Leoch, it was a wise choice of words that just may keep him out of the line of succession.
This episode was really about how Claire's self absorbed actions of wanting to act alone could've cost her everything. We gain some insight into where everyone stands in the MacKenzie clan. But most importantly we learn more about Dougal MacKenzie. We now know that he does have an attraction to Claire, and is determined to keep his place as the next in line for the MacKenzie clan. Also during the boar hunt, we see his softer side as he comforts one of the clansmen who was gored by a boar. It was a touching moment for him, but also made him realize the strength that Claire faces in the presence of a man dying from violent causes. It really was about us understanding him as a character and where his relationship stands with Jamie. Dougal and the politics of this land reign for this episode, which is good for developing characters. But as for Claire, her chance for escape may have yet to come.
SCORE: 8.5/10 - Not as strong as the previous, but it does develop Dougal and Jamie
STATUS: Continue to Watch - Claire may have a chance for escape soon
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